Old pro Batch leads Steelers past Ravens

Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham (6) is all smiles after his last-second field goal beat the Ravens.

BALTIMORE - Because there's still some life in the 37-year-old arm of Charlie Batch, Pittsburgh remains alive in the AFC North.

Batch directed a 61-yard drive in the closing minutes, and Shaun Suisham kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers a 23-20 victory over Baltimore on Sunday.

Playing without injured Ben Roethlisberger for a third consecutive week, Pittsburgh turned to Batch for the second game in a row. The 15-year veteran was 25-for-36 passing for 276 yards, threw for a touchdown and rallied the Steelers in a must-win game against their hated division rivals.

"This is big. It was another opportunity for me to come out here and start, which is rare right now," said Batch, who was elevated to the top of the depth chart after backup Byron Leftwich was injured against Baltimore two weeks ago.

"To be able to go on the road and do something that nobody outside of our locker room thought that we could do is big."

Especially after Batch and Pittsburgh committed eight turnovers last week in a loss to Cleveland.

"I knew going into it that I had to play better," Batch said. "I had to go out there and lead this offense the way I know I can."

The Steelers (7-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and kept alive their slim hopes of overtaking the Ravens (9-3) in the AFC North. The teams have split their games this season, with each winning by three points.

"That was a typical Pittsburgh-Baltimore game," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "It's amazing how it works out that way."

The Steelers trailed 13-3 in the first half and 20-13 in the fourth quarter before coming back. Batch missed a wide-open Mike Wallace in the end zone near the end of the first half, but the veteran quarterback more than made up for it after halftime.

Baltimore could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory. Instead, the Ravens had their 15-game home winning streak snapped and also lost for the first time in 13 games against division foes. Baltimore's last defeat at home was against Pittsburgh in December 2010.

"This game didn't determine the AFC North. We still can go ahead and win the division," said running back Ray Rice, who ran for 78 yards on 12 carries. "We'll go ahead and try to get over this loss."